The NYC construction realm yields both rewards and risks

On behalf of Braunfotel & Frendel LLC on Tuesday, July 23, 2019.

Residents of New York City and its surrounding environs are accustomed to a variety of sounds and noise levels. That is entirely expected in a metropolis that is unparalleled in the United States for its vast reach and nonstop activity.

One realm likely surpasses all others for its demonstrated fervor and unrelenting pace. Namely, that is the construction industry.

There is absolutely no question that more construction workers are daily engaged in more projects across the seemingly endless metro than is the case anywhere else in the country.

Indeed, New York City is a haven of 24/7 construction work. Buildings go up, and buildings come down. Roads are built, expanded and repaired. Workers toil both high above ground and well below the city’s surface. A dizzying array of equipment is used, some of it being so large and complex that it almost defies description.

Indeed, scores of thousands of New Yorkers make their living keeping the city vibrant and evolving, with millions of loved ones depending on them.

The construction realm is truly outsized … and dangerous

If you’re an urban construction worker, you know your job brings both rewards and risks. Legions of industry employees find their work engaging and satisfying. At the same time, though, they know that dangers lurk. Here are just a couple reported statistics relevant to a prior year that underscore industry risks:

Nearly a tenth of all nonfatal work-linked accidents and injuries occurred in the construction realm within that measuring period

Construction workers collectively suffered more than four nonfatal injuries per 100 full-time employees within that year, marking a rate simply not seen in other work realms

Numerous and varied: the causes of construction injuries

Construction mishaps leading to worker accidents and injuries are not just frequent. They are also highly varied, owing to wide-ranging catalysts that are hard to safeguard against when on-the-job third-party negligence or general safety disregard features. Here are some especially common causes, which are routinely spotlighted concerns for OSHA and other federal/state safety regulators:

Those are just a few representative bullet points on a “things that go wrong” list relevant to a construction site. There are scores more of injury-promoting agents that seriously or fatally harm industry workers in New York City and across the country daily.

Affected workers and their families obviously need to timely seek a meaningful legal remedy against work-based harms. That need is especially obvious in the dynamic yet dangerous construction industry.

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